Console heater



EL ROY L. PAYNE CONSOLE HEATER Oct. 24, 1933.

Filed Jan. 3, 1933 Ill (llllll. I. II

Patented Oct. 24, 1933,

UNITED STATES PAT ENT? OFFICE 12 Claims.

My invention relates to heating devices, particularly to gas heaters, and is directed to a console type heater having structural features in which ornamental appearance is combined with safety and efliciency of operation.

It is desirable that a stove, if it does not conform strictly to the decorative scheme of a room, at least blend into its surroundings. The socalled console type of heater has evolved, therefore, in response to the demand for a stove that has the appearance of an article of furnifront panel 20, side'panels. 21 and 22, and rear,

ture.

The object of my invention is to meet certain problems that arise in the construction and operation of a console heater. For instance, the hot air outlet of the device is apt to be considered as detracting from its appearance, and as unduly emphasizing itscharacter as a stove, in warm weather when artificial heatis not required. I have provided, therefore, a door for concealing the hot air outlet during those intervals when the heater is not employed. Such provision, however, gives rise to a second and more serious problem. The hot air outlet must be fully open for efiicient operation, and the heater should not be ignited unless the outlet is open; otherwise, the confined heat may become so great as to ruin the stove and to constitute a serious menace.

To improve the appearance of the heater by thus providing a door for the heater outlet, without at the same time decreasing the efliciency of operation and without increasing the fire hazard involved, I have provided safety means to prevent ignition of the gas burner of the heater when the outlet door is closed.- The door is so hung that it either takesia closed position, positively'locking a second door covering the ignition port of the heater, or takes a second position resting within the console casing concealed from View. The door, if free, moves immediately to one of these positionsQand cannot shift from one of these positions to the other unless moved v against gravity by a person with. deliberate intent. Absent-mindedness is precluded.

A further object of my invention is to provide means for keeping the top of the console heater relatively cool, the same means alsobeing conducive to uniformity in temperature and velocity of the hot air stream.

These objects andadvantages will best be understood by reference to the detailed description below, together with the accompanying drawing, in which: 1

Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of the heater, par-- tially broken away to reveal the interior construction;

vertically as indicated bythe line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig.- 2, showing certain movable parts in changed position.

The heater is, preferably, rectangular in con figuration, to present the appearance of a cabinet. The outer casing comprises four panels,

panel 23. The panels are assembled together by means of angle members 24 forming the corners of the casing, and extending below the casing to form legs 25 that space the casing from the floor. The outer casing is provided with a suitable flanged cover 26 pivotally mounted on a pair of cars 27, one of the ears being mounted on each of the two rear angle members 24.

Rear panel 23 terminates short of the top of the casing and is flanged in at 28 to form an opening 29 at the rear of the casing for the purposes of ventilation. Side panel 21 has a suitable aperture 30 near its lower end dimensioned to receive a burner 31, the aperture embracing the mixer 32 of the installed burner. In order to facilitate such installation of the burner, the

opposite side panel 22 may be provided with a similar aperture 33 to be thereafter closed by a suitable cover plate (not shown) in a substantially permanent manner,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section taken Front panel 20 terminates short of the top of the casing in order to provide hot air outlet 34, and is apertured to providean ignition port 35 near the lower edge to provide access to the interior of the heater for the purpose of initially igniting burner 31. Outlet 34 is provided with a suitable door 36; ignition port 35 is provided with a suitable door 37; and means is incorporated in the heater to prevent the opening of the lower door while the upper door is closed. Such means may be provided as indicated by the drawing.

The lower. door 37 is provided with a suitable knob 38, and is attached in a fixed manner to a pintle 39 that is revolvably journalled in two suitable brackets 40 on the inner face of panel 20. Pintle 39 extends beyond the brackets to form a crank-arm 41 that is pivotally connected to the lower end of a vertically extending slide rod 42. The upper end of the slide rod is guided by a suitable apertured clip 43 on theinner face of panel 20. When the ignition port .door 37 is opened or closed, crank-arm 41 is revolved to actuate slide rod 42. The moving parts are so positioned and proportioned that when ignition door 37 is closed. as shown in Figs. 1 and 2-, the upper end of rod 42 is at its lowermost position, and when the ignition door is open, rod 42 is moved to its uppermost position and within range of door 36, as shown by Fig. 3.

Upper door 36 is rotatively hung on a cross rod 44 extending between side panels 21 and 22 at the front of the casing, sleeves 45 embracing the rod at each end as spacers maintain the central position of the door. The door has a suitable lmob 46, and is dimensioned to slightly overhang the lower edge of outlet 34. Attached to the inner face of door 36 is a horizontal angle 47, which, when door 36 is closed, is positioned directly in the path of slide rod 42 and serves to prevent the rod moving upward from its lowermost position. As a result of this arrangement, ignition port door 37 cannot be opened as long as upper door 36 is closed. It may be said that crank-arm 41, slide rod 42 and angle member 47 comprise a latching means to secure the ignition door when door 36 is closed.

An inner casing 48 of rectangular configuration and open at both ends is housed within the outer casing and suitably attached thereto, and is provided with an aperture 49 registering with ignition port 35.

Inner casing 48 encases a heating unit comprising a combustion chamber 50, a plurality of heat-exchange lines 51 and a manifold 52, the inner casing defining, with the outer casing, a continuous space 53 for the purposes of heat insulation. For the purpose of intercepting downward radiation of heat, two or more spaced horizontal plates or baflles 50a may be mounted on the bottom of combustion chamber 50. Airdrawn in through the lower open end of the outer casing enters inner casing 48, receives heat from the heating unit housed therein, and is discharged outward through the outlet 34. Adequate ventilation for space 53 is provided by opening 29 in the back panel, the open lower end of the outer casing, and members associated with heater outlet 34, which will'now be described.

Means to deflect the column of air from the upper end of the inner casing'towards outlet 34 comprises a series of angular louvres 54, 55, 56,-

and 57, extending laterally across the upper end of the inner casing. The rearmost and uppermost louvre 54 is continuous with the back wall 58 of the inner casing and terminates at the front near the top of outlet 34. Louvre 57 at the other end of the series is spaced inward from the front wall 59 of the inner casing and terminates above the lower edge of outlet 34, thereby providing means not only to deflect air currents discharged from inner casing 48, but also additional means for ventilating space 53. The lower edges of the louvres are attached to the upper edge of the inner casing and extend laterally beyond the inner casing as means also to facilitate circulation of air in space 53, air currents moving outward through the louvres drawing air from the space between the two casings. The forward horizontal ends of the louvres terminate in a vertical plane just inside outlet 34 and are interjoined by a pair of vertical bolts 60 having spacers in the form of sleeves 61 between the individual louvres.

Combustion chamber 50 is a rectangular box extending transversely across inner casing 48 in spaced relation thereto. Suitable brackets 62 are provided in chamber 50 to support the enclosed burner 31. The combustion chamber has an opening 63 in each end to admit air for conibustion, and is apertured at 64 in registry with aperture 49 and port 35 to provide suitable access for igniting burner 31. provided in the bottom of chamber 56, to admit additional air for combustion, if desired.

The flues 51, with which the combustion chamber communicates, are relatively thin in order to provide a relatively large surface for transferring heat from the gases of combustion within the flues to the currents of fresh air surrounding the fines. The upper ends of the fines are disposed horizontally to enter manifold 52. A vent collar 65 extending through the rear walls of the outer and inner casing communicates with the rear of the manifold, and a down-draft chamber 66, likewise extending through the rear walls of the two casings, communicates with the bottom of the manifold. Within the manifold a baflie 6'7 is disposed downward in spaced relation to vent collar 65 for a purpose well known in the art. The gases of combustion normally are conducted through fiues 51, manifold 52 and out vent collar 65 through a suitable pipe (not shown) so that such gases do not contaminate the atmosphere of the room. A sudden back Additional holes may be draft is deflected by baffie 67 downward through down-draft diverter 66 into the room.

When the heater is not in use, both doors are closed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, giving the heater the appearance of a closed cabinet. It may serve as an end table, if desired. The latch mechanism described precludes the opening of ignition port door 37 before the opening of upper door 36, and the difficulty attendant upon any attempt to open the lower door first serves immediately to remind any absent-minded person that the upper door is closed. It will be noted that the upper door will not stay at any intermediate angle near the lower position, but will drop to the completely closed position.

Upper door 36 is opened by lifting cover 26 and then swinging door 36 to a position inside the heater resting upon top louvre 54, as shown in Fig. 3. Cover 26 is then released to its normal position completely concealing door 36. It is apparent, then, that door 36 is constructed to gravitate to either a closed or an open position, and can not accidentally shift from one of the positions to the other. After the burner is ignited, the ignition port door is closed. If one should neglect to close the ignition door completely and should then attempt to close upper door 36, rod 42 would prevent completely closing the upper door, thereby reminding the operator to completely close the lower door, thus restoring the desired interlocking relation between the two doors.

The heater in operation has certain features of importance. A column of air entering the bottom of the outer casing is divided into three streams; one stream supplies burner 31 and is carried through the heating unit; one stream enters the inner casing 48, receives heat from the walls of the heating unit therein and is discharged into the room through outlet 34; and the third stream passes upward through space 53 between the two casings to keep the outer casing from becoming unduly heated. A portion of the third current of air passes from space 53 out opening 29 in the back of the heater. It will be noted, however, that since louvres 54, 55, 56 and 57 extend beyond the walls of inner casing 48 they serve to draw off the larger proportion of the third stream of air with the second stream.

In other words, the louvre arrangement causes the slower column of air in space 53 to commingle with the faster moving column 0! air from within inner casing 48 and thus creates a suction eflect that increases the velocity or air moving through space 53. 4

O1 prime importance is thefunction of the angular louvers or deflectors as means for keeping top cover 26 of the console heater relatively cool. It will be noted that each louver intercepts a fraction or the heat radiated upward from combustion chamber 50, and that the louvers overlap so that two or more spaced thicknesses of metal intervene between the combustion chamber and lid 26.

The louvers also are conducive to uniformity of air flow through and out of the heater, in that they divide the hot air stream into streams of substantially equal cross-sectional area and, in casing 48, tend to establish the same conditions of fiow towards the back as near the front. It may be noted that each louver deflects only a portion of the air stream. In the absence of louvers 55, 56 and 57, the whole stream would be deflected by louver- 54 and that louver would become heated sufiiciently to raise lid 26 to an undesirable temperature. Also, the velocity of the air stream would be substantially greater near the top edge of outlet 34 than near the bottom edge.

Since my invention may be widely changed without departing from the principles involved, I expressly reserve the right to all modifications and changes that properly fall within the scope of my appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A heater having, in combination: a casing; a burner in the casing, the casing having an ignition port therein associated withthe burner; a closure for the port; an outlet in the casing spaced from said port and positioned to discharge heat generated by the burner; a closure for said outlet; and means associated with said closures to secure the port closure in closed position while the outlet closure is in closed position.

2. A heater having, in combination: a casing; a burner in the casing, the casing having an ignition port therein associated with the burner; a closure normally covering said burner port; an outlet in the casing spaced from said port and positioned to discharge heat generated by the burner; a member operatively connected to said closure to be moved by the opening and closing thereof; and a second closure positioned to close said outlet and adapted to block movement of said member when both closures are closed, thereby latching the first closure at the closed position.

3. A heater having, in combination: a casing; a burner in the casing, the casing having an ignition port therein associated with the burner; a closure normally covering said burner port; an outlet in the casing spaced from said port and positioned to discharge heat generated by the burner; a closure adapted to close said outlet; an interlocking member operatively associated with the first closure and movable by the opening movement thereof; and means associated with the second closure cooperative with said interlocking member to lock the first closure when both closures are closed.

4. The combination with a heater having a casing, provided with an ignition port and a heat outlet, of a door adapted to close said outlet; a door adapted to close said port; and interlocking means associated with the two doors to lock the second door in closed position when the first door is closed.

5. A heater having, in combination: a casing; a burner in the casing, the casing having an ignition port therein associated with the burner; a door normally closing the port; a fresh air passage through the casing; a heating unit associated with the burner to effect heat exchange between the gases of combustion and air in said passage; a door adapted to close said passage; and interlocking means associated with the two doors adapted to automatically lock the first door in closed position when the second door is closed, and to free the first door when the second door is open.

6. A heater having, in combination: a casing; a burner in the casing, the casing having an ignition port therein associated with the burner; a door normally closing said port; an outlet in the casing spaced from said port and positioned to discharge heat generated by the burner; a latch to secure said door in closed position; and manually operable means to control the latch, said means including a door associated with said outlet and adapted by its opening movement to release the latch.

7. A heater having, in combination: an outer casing having an ignition port and a hot air outlet; a door adapted to close said port; a second door adapted to close said outlet; an inner casing forming a passage communicating with said outlet, and defining with the outer casing a heatinsulating space, said inner casing having an aperture registering with said port in the outer casing; a burner near the port; a heating unit within the passage enclosing the burner and adapted to effect heat exchange between the combustion gases and air within the passage, said unit having an aperture registering with the port and the first aperture; and a latch associated with the two doors adapted to secure the first door shut when the second door is shut.

8. A heater having, in combination: an open top casing having a heat discharge outlet in one side near the top edge; a door adapted to move from one position covering the outlet to a second position within the casing; and a cover for the top of the casing adapted to conceal the door in the second position.

9. A heater having,'in combination: an open top casing having a heat discharge outlet in one side near the top edge; a door pivoted near the upper edge of the outlet and adapted to swing 1 30 from a vertical position closing the oulet to a substantially horizontal position within the easing; and a cover for the top of the casing adapted to swing clear of the path of the door and to conceal the door when the door is in horizontal position.

10. A heater having, in combination: a casing having an ignition port and a heat discharge outlet; a door normally closing said port; means to latch said door in closed position, including a member extending towards the outlet; and a door adapted to gravitate either to an outer position closing the outlet or to an open position within the casing, said second door in the closed position cooperating with said member to latch the first door.

11. A heater having, in combination: an open top casing having an ignition port and having a heat discharge outlet in one side near the top edge of the casing; a door normally closing said ignition port; a door adapted to move from one position covering the outlet to an uncovering position within the casing; latching means adapted to secure the first door in the closed position, said 5 means including locking means associated with combination of: a door to close said port; a crank arm operatively connected to the door to be revolved by the opening and closing thereof; a member operatively connected to the crank arm to be moved thereby towards said outlet when the door is opened; and a second door adaptedto close said outlet and in the closed position to block movement of said member, thereby latching the first door in closed position.

.EL no! L. 1mm. 

